Getting bitten by the acting bug in high school and college was Vicki Ostrom’s pathway to costume design, and that training has served her well as SanMar’s (asi/84863) lead designer – and “futurist.”

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“It’s a huge asset that other people in my profession often don’t have,” says Ostrom of her 10 years in the costuming world. “I developed research skills and apparel history knowledge, and I have always been interested in people and social dynamics.”

Much like an actor researches a character, designing costumes taught Ostrom to delve into who the characters are, what they like, and what motivates and inspires them. “That’s what we do in the fashion world – every brand is trying to figure out people and who their client base is,” Ostrom says.

While costume design is pretty cool, it’s the futurist tag that gets Ostrom notoriety. She says the term means different things to different people – but it’s no small thing, especially when you’re setting style trends for the second-largest supplier in the promo industry, a company that generates nearly $1 billion a year in sales. “When you work in any type of trending industry, you need to look at what’s going on now, as well as in the future,” Ostrom says.

Notably, Ostrom is the brains behind SanMar’s Style Network, which educates its customers about current trends and how to style them, while demonstrating that SanMar products are on par with retail options. Ostrom works with a team from SanMar’s marketing department to bring the trends she identifies to life. “Customers have been very receptive to these pieces, requesting that we continue to share more about trends and styling with them,” she says.

So where does a futurist like Ostrom look to see what’s next? For starters, she watches the music industry closely, as its entertainers have become increasingly important trendsetters in the world of fashion. Then there’s the science community, which offers inspiring fabric trends that become new ways to apply technical function to clothing, as well as advancing eco-friendly sustainability concepts in many industries.

Ostrom also reads journals and publications ranging from Bon Appetit and InStyle to Fast Company and a variety of business reports. “I have found that so many diverse industries are actually inspired by and following the same trend signals.” For example, Bon Appetit’s food trend forecaster focuses on the increasing importance of health, and how food and recipe trends are moving in that direction.

Similarly, as people become more physically active, “They want clothing that helps them move more easily,” Ostrom says. “Across all age groups, people are embracing this wellness trend and boundaries are being broken.” No one wants to be labeled or pinned into one age group, nor do they want to shop in an age specific department, she says. “They want fashion that has no age limit.”

Ostrom believes art galleries and museums are important sources of inspiration, too. “They are the earliest predictor of color you will see, as well as thought concepts,” she says, adding, “Those ideas won’t show up in clothing until a few years out.”

Ostrom, though, knows they’re coming. “It’s exciting to have the company adopt styles from the significant trends we’re seeing, breaking down trend concepts into functional and fashionable uses,” she says.

In terms of categories, bleisure – meaning business plus leisure – remains a key focus for fashion, says Ostrom. People are combining work trips with leisure time, tagging personal days onto a business trip to make it a more pleasurable experience; they need clothing that’s versatile, looks good and is comfortable while traveling.

Ostrom’s job, of course, is to keep SanMar is at the forefront of the move toward such trends, incorporating important features like odor control and wrinkle resistance. But these features are only a sampling of what’s to come. For example, reflectivity has been trending in recent years, and can enhance night events like yoga raves or night golf or anyplace people gather in an active setting, Ostrom notes. Fabrics that combine reflective materials, functionality and the latest fashion can up the surprise factor when the lights go out, with a pop of color or light too, she adds. “We need more wow in design,” says Ostrom. “Immersive trends like virtual reality experiences are exciting – we want to see that kind of excitement in clothing.”

Vicki Ostrom is the brains behind SanMar's Style Network trend guide.

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